


Strike on the Celestial Nights

by celestialdusk



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gay Keith (Voltron), Lance is hella good with a bow, M/M, Mutual Pining, No Smut, Slow Burn, dont kill me i swear hes still in this and in the present story line, he's dead before the plot even starts, shiro finally got his wish of being dead
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-26
Updated: 2017-06-26
Packaged: 2018-11-18 18:07:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11295963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celestialdusk/pseuds/celestialdusk
Summary: It has been eleven years since Zarkon staged a coup and brutally overthrew Alfor's rule, and the kingdom has been plunged into chaos and tyranny. Allura, after being forced into hiding after those years, has had enough of the despotism, and decides to take action. She hires a brooding assassin by the name of Keith, and on their way to restore peace, they meet a few colorful characters that decide to join them on their journey.





	Strike on the Celestial Nights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "An idea, like a ghost, must be spoken to a little before it will explain itself." -Charles Dickens

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey so just an fyi I don't write smut so if you didn't read the tags and were looking forward to that, sorry. I just don't cross into that territory when I write (I've got nothing against it, I just don't write it)  
> Anyway I hope you enjoy!

The woman hugged her cloak closer to her as she trudged through the snowy cobblestone road, her hood pulled over her white locks tucked into a simple bun. The cloak was as dark as the earth below her, making her appear to be a shadow darting through the streets. The frozen water was harshly cascading from the sky, nearly pushing the woman back with its force, but, despite this, she persisted forward. The lanterns that normally lit the street had blown out because of the bitter winds, plunging the area into darkness. Signs slammed on walls as they were blasted back by the gusts, creating strident sounds that echoed through the town and bounced off each stone wall. Villagers pulled back curtains to stare at the woman walking in the storm, muttering to each other about how foolish she was for venturing out in this weather and this time of night. Despite this, rather than offering her a warm, safe place within their home, they would simply let the curtains fall back to their place and blow out the candle sitting in their window.

Her boots crunched in the white powder dusting the road. The footprints she left in her wake were quickly covered by the blizzard, making it seem like she was never there in the first place. Her teeth chattered with the gelid snowy night and she shivered as her body became colder and colder. Her cloak provided little warmth to her, despite being made of thick velvet and fur. The storm had caught her, and the rest of the area by surprise, meaning she had no time to prepare for the freezing temperatures and harsh conditions. Her eyes glanced around to each of the houses in a desperate attempt to search for anywhere she could stay, even for only a couple of hours, to warm up and better prepare for the current conditions. Each building, however, was closed and locked up, not willing to open its doors for the woman. 

She could have sworn a few times she saw a dart of movement in the shadows, but each time she turned her head for a better look, there was nothing there. She reasoned with herself it was simply her brain and the falling snow playing a trick on her, making her see movement when there was in fact none. She plowed forward, her eyes still scanning the area for any shelter she could take. 

She saw it again. The small flash of white from the shadows, like a rat bounding through a kitchen, was back once more in her peripheral vision. She spun her head around, and for a brief second, her eyes caught a small figure dashing back into the darkness. It was almost entirely white, with the exception of grey folds of skin and cloth overlaying each other. It wore a tall, pointed hat that covered any facial features the creature may have had. Its arms hung loosely at its side for the brief moment it was in her sight before it darted on its small legs into the shadows. 

She stepped from her straight path down the road to inspect the creature hiding in the alleyway. Her right arm was crossed over her hips, with her hand gripping a small object strapped to her waist. She tiptoed forward into the alley. 

Something crashed behind her. She spun around, pulling out her dagger as she did, and aimed it at the noisemaker. Her hood fell around her neck, exposing her face to the noisemaker as it did. Her white hair was in stark contrast to her dark skin. Her blue eyes scanned the noisemaker's face, looking for any signs of a threat. 

The noisemaker was a man, maybe around thirty or forty years old. He held one of  his hands up in surrender, and the other her held a lantern. His eyes darted around like a caged animal. When he spoke, it was with a foreign accent she had never heard before. 

"Whoa there, Lass. I ain't gonna hurt ya. Just put the dagger down."

She did not put the dagger down, but instead brought it closer to the man. Her eyes were as hard as steel and as cold as the flurry surrounding them. Her cloak blowing in the wind was the only thing moving. 

"What do you want?" She asked, unmoving.

"I want to offer ya a place to stay. Ya looked cold and hungry, and I thought I would be kind and allow ya to stay at my tavern."

The woman still kept her gaze, but she dropped her arm. The man nodded in approval. "Follow me."

She kept her dagger close as they moved out of the alley, still not fully trusting the strange man. She glanced to the passageway one last time, scanning for the small white creature. Something shifted in the darkness, something larger than the white beings. She paused from her walking, searching for what could have moved. Seeing nothing, she continued forward.

The man guided them up the road, stopping before a shabby building. The roof was sloping in, and the wooden door was peppered with holes. Muffled music could be heard coming from the building, and many of the candles were still burning inside. The man pushed the door open, and the woman stepped inside. The building was filled with laughing people, all drinking from large mugs that they brandished about. The lighting was soft from the candles, but the atmosphere was not. The woman tucked her dagger away under her dirt-colored cloak. The man led her to a table and sat her down.

"Ya can spend the night here if you wish, but it'll cost ya 30 gac. Find me when ya make up your mind."

She nodded and leaned back on the couch, kicking her feet onto the table. The man did not comment on her behavior, and went off further into the tavern. None of the patrons payed attention to the strange woman, still enjoying their drinking.

The door burst open once more, sending chills into the room. A boy stepped into the tavern, his face obstructed by a hood. The door shut behind him, and he strolled over to a nearby booth. He sat down, tapping his fingers on the table as if waiting for someone. 

Someone from another table soon walked over and sat across from the boy and began to talk. The woman could not hear what was being said, as it was far too loud to even make out one's own thoughts. The two talked for some time, before the other person set a brown canvas bag on the table. The boy leaned forward and snatched it, attaching it to his belt. He nodded, and the other before stood up and walked back to their previous table.

The boy twirled a knife, waiting for more people. He glance to his left to see the woman staring at him. He looked at her with deep purple eyes, and cocked an eyebrow. Rather than being intimated by the strange boy, she continued her staring. On closer inspection, he looked to be a teenager and roughly 5-6 years younger than her. Some of his raven hair fell before his eyes, obstructing some areas of his vision. After seeing that she would not back down, he shrugged and strapped the knife back to its rightful place. He rose from his spot and sauntered further into the tavern. 

The woman shook her head and took her feet from off the table. She glanced out the window to see the snow was still falling as hard as it previously was, with no sign of letting up. She fished out a few golden coins from a bag and dived into the tavern. She pushed people aside in an attempt to find the man. No one minded, and simply moved to let her through. Her bun was starting to become looser, and small strands of hair were now framing her face. 

She finally reached the man and handed him the gac. "I am spending the night here."

He pocketed the gac and pulled out a key. He placed it in her hand. "Up the stairs, first right. Room should be labeled 3."

She nodded and began to walk to the nearby staircase.

"What's your name?"

She paused from her walking, but did not turn from her spot.

"Allura," she said. 

"Have a good night, Allura."

The room was easy enough to find, as it was in the place the man had promised. Allura had slept somewhat soundly, never being interrupted during the night. The morning light was welcoming, and the lack of snow falling was even more so. Allura had collected her few belongings, and was making her way downstairs when something caught her eye. It was a slender silver key, sitting in the center of the hall. She scooped it up and examined it. It glimmered in the light and reflected her eyes. She gently placed it in her bag and continued her walk downstairs.

The tavern was quiet now, the opposite of last night. It was nearly empty, save a few drunk people that had fallen asleep on the table or the few alcoholics that wanted an early start on their drinking. The man was wiping the tables with a rag, trying to scrub out the sick that had stuck to one of the tables.

"Allura!" He said. "Leaving so soon?"

Allura nervously glanced around. She had barely talked to the man, and suddenly he was acting like the most friendly person in all the kingdoms. He grinned at her with yellowing teeth, waiting for a response. She walked over to him and placed the keys to her room on the table.

"Thank you for your hospitality."

"Wait! If you stay I'll lower the price on your room."

"I said, thank you for your hospitality."

The man scowled, but did not respond. He instead grabbed her arm and grounded his feet. 

"Let go of me," Allura said, pausing after each word.

He tightened his grip on her. "No."

With her free arm, Allura gripped the man's arm that was holding her own. She twisted it, and the man was flung over his head and onto the table. The noise of him slamming his back onto the table reverberated throughout the room, startling some patrons from their sleep. They glanced to the man on the table, but simply put their heads back down to sleep after seeing the situation. Allura pulled out her dagger and brought it to the man's throat.

"Try that again and I will not hesitate slit your throat."

The man gulped and nodded. She stepped back from him, brushing hair out of her face as she did. She looked to the staircase, and saw the boy from the previous night standing there, frozen. He had his knife drawn, as if ready to attack someone. After seeing Allura, he stepped down the stairs and tucked his knife away. He began to make his way to the door. Allura looked to the man on the table one last time before spinning on her heels and stepping out of the door before the boy could. 

The cold air nipped at her face as she stepped out into the open air. While the snow had stopped, the ground was still littered with it and the cold from it still remained. The road was busy now, unlike last night, when it was dead. People were milling about and shouting at each other, not paying any attention to her. She looked to the sun above, trying to gauge the time. By the looks of it, she had about two hours to make it to the next town over to make it in time to her meeting. 

Her breath curled before her in intricate shapes as she breathed in and out. She walked past a group of villagers clearing snow off their roof, cheerily talking together. Another group of villagers were hanging outside a house, drinking from a flask that they would pass around to each other. 

It did not take long for Allura make it out of the small town and onto the open road. The road was mostly surrounded by fields, all dusted in the white powder that had fallen the previous night. 

The trip to the next town was not short, but Allura had managed to walk there just as the sun was setting. This town was much smaller than the previous, being at least half the size. The majority of the people were inside their house, finishing up supper or heading to bed. Allura pulled out a sheet of paper she had tucked in her cloak. In large, loopy letters it read, _Lion Tavern_ _and Inn._ She glanced at the signs hung from the shops as she went passed them, looking for the one with the same name as on the paper. 

She was nearing the north edge of town, and she still had yet to find the building. The sun had nearly dipped under the horizon, and the lack of lanterns surrounding the road meant that there would soon be very little light for Allura to see. 

She paused to catch her breath, as she had been walking all day. In her brief pause, something caught her eye. It was the boy from earlier, walking into a nearby building. When he opened the door, he glanced around, as if looking for someone, then stepped inside. She looked to the sign hanging above the building. Sure enough, it read,  _Lion Tavern and Inn_. Underneath the letters was a lion's face, intricately carved into the wood. Its intelligent eyes seemed to gaze into her soul as she moved closer to the building. She was so close to the building now that she could hear the muffled chatter from inside. She looked up to the sign once more. The lion seemingly shifted slightly, as if adjusting its position. Allura shook her head and pushed the door open. She was immediately blown back by loud music and chatter, the noise so great it could make a troll go deaf. 

She went to the back table, as instructed, and lo and behold, the boy from earlier was sitting exactly where she was told to go. His legs were kicked up on the table, and he was inspecting the knife from earlier. His hood was pulled down to reveal a mane of black hair that was in desperate need of a cut. He had an "I don't care about you or what you think" air around him, like a teenager trying to hard to too rebel. 

"You're here. Finally."

She recognized the voice immediately as the hooded figure she had encountered earlier that week. Although she had never seen his face, she new immediately that he was the correct person.

Allura sat down across from him. "I saw you enter a few minutes ago."

He did not respond to that, instead opting to change the subject. "I got a better offer yesterday. I'm afraid our deal can't stand."

"What?"

"I'm calling it off. You're gonna have to find someone else."

"What will it take to convince you?"

The boy paused from the twirling of his knife and looked up to her. His eyes were a deep shade of purple, like that of amethysts, and they were scanning her face in an attempt to find any weakness in her stare. Seeing none, he took his feet off the table and leaned forward. He dropped his voice.

"Triple the current payment."

"Deal."

His eyes briefly widened in shock before they were back to their deadpan stare. "Starting payment is 1000 gac."

She tossed a brown canvas bag onto the table, and it landed with a satisfying  _thud._ "I think that's 1000."

The boy scooped up the bag and weighed it in his hand, trying to judge how much gac was in the bag. Appearing to be satisfied, he brought it to his belt. "We must leave now if we want to make it to the House of Manes in time."

"The House of Manes? What's that, and why do we need to go there?"

"Your target is a special case. We're going to have to get some help from a friend."

"I thought your lot didn't like help."

The boy shrugged. "It's nice every once in a while."

"Very well. Lead the way."

* * *

They had been walking in the forest in the dead of night for what had felt like hours, with no end in sight. When Allura tried to talk to him, he would simply give him one word or short answers. She had managed to pry out some information from him. His name was Keith, and he was a teenager, just as she suspected. When she asked about his friend, he simply said that she'd have to wait and see. From that point on, they walked in silence.

Allura had to squint just to discern a few feet in front of he in the darkness, but Keith was having little trouble treading through the tense trees of the forest. He stepped forward with ease and grace, as if he had traveled the path a million times before. He managed to step over each rock, twig, and root without tripping once, whereas Allura stumbled on them multiple times. It was as if he wasn't even walking, but rather gliding over everything, like a shadow in the night. 

Allura could make out a light before them. As they approached it, it appeared to be coming from a house sitting in a clearing of the woods. The house looked longed abandoned, with the roof having caved in and a part of the wall missing. The windows no longer had glass in them, as they had long been taken out. Keith confidently walked to the front, stopping before the old wooden door. Allura followed him.

He grabbed the iron knocker on the door. It was in the shape of a lion's head, similar to that of the inn's sign. Keith knocked with it three times and paused. Allura expected someone to answer the door, but rather Keith simply pushed it open and stepped inside. 

"Why'd you knock if you were going to go inside anyway?" Allura asked.

"To pay our respects."

Allura did not press further, as she knew Keith only seemed to give one word answers. The house was dark, with the only light source coming from the moonlight spilling in from the holes in the walls. The house was small, only being one room with a small crumbling fireplace in the back. The floor was made of dirt that they kicked up every time they walked. 

"Where's your friend?"

"He likes to explore the woods at night. He should be back soon. He knows when he as visitors."

As if on cue, someone stepped into the room. Well,  _stepped_ was a loose term, because they actually floated into the room through the back wall. Allura jumped back when she saw the being enter, surprised by someone entering through the wall rather than the front door. He was tall and buff, and was also levitating a few feet off the ground. He had all the features of a human, but he glowed a light translucent blue, and you could see through him to the wall behind him. His hair was cropped close to his head, save a white tuft of hair falling over his forehead. 

"Allura," Keith said. "This is Shiro."

Shiro gave an apologetic smile, the warmth reaching his eyes. "Sorry for startling you there! I'd assumed whoever Keith brought with him had been told of my, uh," he glanced down to his translucent, blue body, "condition." He gave her a lopsided, awkward grin in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"Shiro here knows a lot about druid magic," Keith explained. "Since your target has some help from the druids, I figured it would be good to have an expert with us."

The shock had dissipated from Allura. "Nice to meet you, Shiro. I would shake your hand, but-"

Shiro laughed. "Yes, I understand. It would be a bit hard to do that."

"So, you can help us?" 

"If the druid magic hasn't diverged too much from when I, uh, well, died, then I should be able to."

"Allura and I should rest up before tomorrow," Keith said. "We can leave in the morning."

Shiro nodded. "Good idea. You know where the furs are, Keith. I can keep watch."

Keith moved to the back of the room, where he opened a hatch. He took out a stack of furs and set them on the ground before closing the hatch once more. He set them out on the dirt floor and crawled on top of one. Allura sat down on the fur, but did not lay down. "It's fine, I can take the first watch."

Shiro chuckled. "I appreciate your kindness, but I don't sleep, so I may as well be the one that keeps watch."

"It's fine, really. I can do it."

Keith grunted. "Can you two figure that out a little quieter, I'm trying to sleep here."

Shiro cracked a smile, but did not respond. Soon enough, the room was filled with the sound of Keith's snores. He was curled up into the fetal position, and his face looked like that of a child. 

"For someone being in his line of work, he sure does sleep like a baby."

"He's a good kid. Just was in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Shiro floated onto his back, as if he was floating on water. He was inches above the ground now, barely floating above it. With a quick glance, one could easily mistake him for lying on the ground. He had an adorable smile on his face, like he was thinking of the fondest memories. "He slept like that when he was younger, too. He was so cute back then."

"I'm sure he was." Allura yawned.

Seeing her yawn, Shiro said, "You should really get some rest. It won't do you any good tomorrow to be tired."

"Shiro, I just met the both of you, and no offense, but I'm not sure if I can trust you. I'd prefer not to let my guard down."

"That's understandable, but there's nothing I can do to hurt you. I can't even pick anything up now, much less hurt you. And you saw Keith. He's fast asleep."

"I suppose that's true."

Shiro flipped onto his stomach. "Get some rest. Please."

Allura shut her eyes. "Okay."

She fell asleep to Shiro's soft glowing blue light, letting the darkness overtake her. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The little gnome creatures at the beginning are based off the nomes from Little Nightmares. It's a really fun game you should totally check it out if you haven't :)  
> The other characters are coming soon, don't worry (I'm mostly writing this for myself because I'm getting antsy af to write them XD)  
> 

**Author's Note:**

> My tumblr is @noquiznaksweregiventhatday


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